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Appointment details

Office for Students, Student Experience Board Member

Summary

• Organisation: Office for Students
• Sponsor department: Department for Education
• Location: Various
• Sectors: Education
• Number of vacancies: 1
• Time commitment: 20 day(s) per annum
• Remuneration: £9,180 per annum
• Length of term: 3 years
• Application deadline: 11am on 13 June 2022

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Timeline for this appointment

1. Opening date

   12 May 2022

2. Application deadline

   11am on 13 June 2022

3. Sifting date

   8 July 2022

4. Interviews expected to end on

   18 October 2022

Timeline dates are only an estimate and can change

About the appointment

Appointment description

The Student Experience board member will provide a student perspective at the heart of the OfS and will bring experience of representing a wide range of student views, as well as excellent stakeholder management skills.

The successful applicant will play a role in delivering government priorities for HE. They will contribute to OfS’s work to raise quality in HE provision, protect free speech and academic freedom, and tackling harassment including antisemitism and sexual misconduct and its causes. They will also ensure prospective students have the right information available to them from providers on the likelihood of completing their course and what they go on to do.

The OfS student experience board will sit on the OfS’s student panel, which comprises 13 current, recent and prospective students. This panel ensures that students’ views inform OfS’s decision-making and acts as an important source of advice to the OfS board.

Non-executive director board members play a key role in shaping the OfS’s strategic direction, contributing to delivery of the OfS’s statutory regulatory duties, with responsibility for a wide range of activities, including:

• Oversight of the OfS’s corporate strategy.
• Reviewing risks and benefits, and monitoring outcomes against plans.
• Being responsible for the stewardship of public funds, managing the risks relating to the OfS’s work.
• Providing constructive challenge to ensure all functions are carried out efficiently and effectively.

For further information please see the candidate pack.

Regulation of appointment

This post is regulated by the Commissioner for Public Appointments. For more information, please refer to the Commissioner’s website 

Person specification

Essential criteria

• Be a current undergraduate or postgraduate student in HE in England or have graduated from HE in England within the last two years.
• Demonstrable experience of representing or promoting the interests of students, bringing first-hand knowledge of the many issues faced by past, present and future students. This should include the ability to work collaboratively with a range of stakeholders at different levels.
• Have a genuine interest in supporting the OfS deliver the Government’s priorities for HE, for example on real social mobility, quality, free speech and academic freedom and improving the student experience including by tackling antisemitism and sexual misconduct, and providing support for student mental health.

Desirable criteria

• Experience and understanding of corporate governance.

Application and selection process

How to apply

Please submit the following documents by email to:

PublicAppointments.APPLICATIONS@education.gov.uk

1. A CV of not more than 2 pages of A4
2. Candidate Application Form
3. Diversity Monitoring Form

Please include the heading “Student Representative: Office for Students” in the subject box of your email and submit your application documents as separate attachments.

Please note the following:

• We cannot accept applications submitted after the closing date.
• Applications will be assessed solely on the documentation provided. Please refer to the advert and checklist to ensure you have provided the necessary documentation.
• Applications will be acknowledged upon receipt.
• Feedback will only be given to candidates unsuccessful following interview.
• When 30 or more applications are received, it is likely that your application will be “pre-assessed” before it is passed to the Advisory Assessment Panel for consideration. You should be aware that in this situation, your application might not be considered in full by all the members of the Panel.

Advisory Assessment Panel (AAP)

• Hannah Sheehan 

  Panel Chair

  Director, HE Quality, Access and Student Experience Directorate, Department for Education • Departmental Official

• Clare Marchant 

  Chief Executive, UCAS • Independent Member

• Lord James Wharton 

• Chair of the Office for Students • Representative of Organisation

• Lord Wharton declared the following political activity:

Additional information for candidates

Equality and diversity

The Department champions social mobility in all of its policies and is committed to opening up opportunities for people from all backgrounds, all socio-economic classes and all regions of the UK. We are committed to embedding this principle into our recruitment and public appointments and expect all our leaders, including in arm’s length bodies, to take action to attract and retain staff from all backgrounds, while also supporting them to progress within their careers. 

Disability confident

We are a member of the Government’s Disability Confident scheme and have achieved Disability Confident Leader status, signifying our role as champions of the scheme. We use the Disability Confident symbol, along with other like-minded employers, to show our commitment to good practice in employing people with a disability. We ask that all applicants complete an anonymised Diversity Monitoring Form used for gathering data only in order to ensure departments are recruiting from the widest possible pool. The information you provide is held by the DfE OfS Sponsorship Team and not shared with the selection panel.

Principles of public life

You will be expected to demonstrate high standards of corporate and personal conduct. The successful candidate will be asked to subscribe to a Code of Conduct for Members of the board and must confirm that you have sound understanding of and commitment to the principles of public life. 

Please see the candidate pack for more details. 

How to complain

Please contact the Department for Education’s Public Appointments team if you would like to make a complaint regarding your application at: PublicAppointments.DFE@education.gov.uk 

We will acknowledge your complaint upon receipt and respond within 15 working days.

Data protection

The Cabinet Office will use your data in line with our privacy policy.

For further information on how your data will be stored, please see the Public Appointments privacy notice.

Contact details

For any queries please contact: 

publicappointments.applications@education.gov.uk